Disney announced the title today in a shareholders meeting hosted by CEO Bog Iger. While no official story details have yet to be revealed, rumor has it that this spin-off flick could follow a group of bounty hunters involved in a high-risk heist, perhaps even stealing the plans for the original Death Star. "Rogue" of course, was also the name of Luke's speeder squadron in the Battle of Hoth,

A posting to the official Star Wars website did confirm however, that "the idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll," the chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. Knoll will serve as an executive producer on the film. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), written by Chris Weitz (Cinderalla, About a Boy and star Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything. It's currently set to land in theaters on December 16th, 2016.

In addition to the Rogue One reveal, Iger also shared a release date for Star Wars: Episode VIII. The movie, which will officially be directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), will come out on May 26, 2017. In other words, it might be a good time to buy some new calendars and start marking down dates.

Fair's fair, it is Star Wars, but it's still a bit arrogant to make plans for another movie and for an entirely new franchise/cinematic universe without seeing if people like VII. It will sell like hot cakes, but it is entirely possible that two incredibly awful movies could bring this whole thing down on itself.

But whatever. I just want to see VII first and whine about they cut out Kyle Katarn from the universe.

I know where I'll be opening night! lounging by the fireplace, reading Solo Command.This doesn't make sense though. Each of the existing Rouge Squadron books have enough story for at least one good movie (or three lousy movies. Zing!) that could be set without alienating the existing fans. I can understand Disney wanting to tell new stories but this is starting to feel less like "fun new adventures" and more like Mickey tagged out Lucas during that south park episode.

Er...if this is about bounty hunters, I'm going to be a bit annoyed. The term 'Rogue' in Star Wars is associated with the elite fighter squadron, whether you read the books or just saw Empire Strikes Back. If they change that iconic name to mean a ragtag group of bounty hunters, that's kind of a slap in the face to me. They couldn't come up with any other name? They had to take the one that isn't related to bounty hunters at all?

Phil the Nervous:I know where I'll be opening night! lounging by the fireplace, reading Solo Command.This doesn't make sense though. Each of the existing Rouge Squadron books have enough story for at least one good movie (or three lousy movies. Zing!) that could be set without alienating the existing fans. I can understand Disney wanting to tell new stories but this is starting to feel less like "fun new adventures" and more like Mickey tagged out Lucas during that south park episode.

If they used those stories they would have to pay the writers royalties. This way they can steal the basic story for free :-P

StewShearer:The first Star Wars stand-alone film will be called Rogue One.

As in Rogue Squadron? One of the few good book series? YAY!

While no official story details have yet to be revealed, rumor has it that this spin-off flick could follow a group of bounty hunters involved in a high-risk heist, perhaps even stealing the plans for the original Death Star.

Oh, fuck you Disney! If you can't see the perfect opportunity to milk the Rogue Squadron books, then just give me the bloody franchise, because you obviously don't know what you're doing with it.

In addition to the Rogue One reveal, Iger also shared a release date for Star Wars: Episode VIII. The movie, which will officially be directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), will come out on May 26, 2017.

Isn't this a tad premature? I mean, you probably haven't even begun writing the first draft yet; you definitely haven't had a chance to learn what gripes the public has about VII because it's not even out yet. Setting a release date before knowing what you're doing is a guarantee for a rushed product.

On the other hand, I've heard this new director is pretty good. That may help.

With a title like Rogue One, it'd better be Rogue Squadron-related. It would be really stupid of Disney if they didn't. They can't exactly go the whole "Alderaan Cruiser" renaming route on this one, given "Rogue" is the official moniker for the squadron in the film canon.

Speaking of which, screw you Disney. That's a goddamn Corellian Corvette, and I'm going to keep calling them that until the day I die.

This was published when I was 13, about a year after the TIE Fighter Collectors Edition CD-ROM. Of which, I ended up scratching that disk into oblivion, and actually burning up a CD-ROM drive in my parents computer. But this series of books means more to me than any other EU story out there, even the Thrawn trilogy, and, if you've played TIE Fighter, you know how big of a role he plays in that game.

I swear to god Disney, if you manage to pull this off, you will have all of my monies forever. But if you don't, if you fuck this up, if you turn it into some kind of god damn toy commercial, I will swear off everything Star Wars. Corran Horn is a goddamn Jedi fighter pilot, who is married to a female smuggler whose dad has his own personal fucking Star Destroyer that he uses as a mobile casino.

If you can't make a decent story out of that, then you don't deserve a god damn thing.

Sniper Team 4:Er...if this is about bounty hunters, I'm going to be a bit annoyed. The term 'Rogue' in Star Wars is associated with the elite fighter squadron, whether you read the books or just saw Empire Strikes Back. If they change that iconic name to mean a ragtag group of bounty hunters, that's kind of a slap in the face to me. They couldn't come up with any other name? They had to take the one that isn't related to bounty hunters at all?

Wouldn't be the first time. 'Heir to the Jedi' was clearly trying to leach off the more much popular 'Heir To the Empire' book, not that it appears to have helped it's sales. And they are planning to release 20 new books in the few months between now and #TheRetconAwakens. At least James Luceno tried to use pre-established EU lore in 'Tarkin', including Isard.

I honestly don't get why they would purposefully disenfranchise the most loyal fans who, having spent lots of money before, would be the most inclined to spend money now.

I have kids of my own now, and, as it stands, I will not be buying this alternate non-sense for my kids.

I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

infohippie:I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

And would you know/care if they kept it? Most of the old Marvel comics were contradictory, nonsensical, silly trash but that didn't stop them from salvaging everything they could out of it.

Wow... I really didn't want to look forward to this, but they are making so many right choices! The only way to make this work was with a stand-alone away from the original cast. Fingers crossed that they don't fuck this up.

infohippie:I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

Sorry if this comes off as pedantic, but you're a little bit misinformed. There were no jedi in Rogue Squadron (one of the secondary characters becomes a jedi in another series) and the series focused on ship-to-ship combat.

Always good to run across another "starfighter jockey." I was one of those kids that wanted to be Wedge Antilles instead of Luke Skywalker. I devoured anything related to Star Wars space combat growing up (I could easily go on a huge tangent on how Tie Fighter is one of the best games ever made and anyone even remotely interested in Star Wars needs to play it), though I preferred Wraith Squadron when it came to the novels.

Having said that, I fully expect all of it to be relegated to "Legends" status. I just hope whatever Disney comes up with will at least be of comparable quality (something they're capable of, if Star Wars: Rebels is any indication).

I've long since established my own headcanon when it comes to Star Wars anyway, picking and choosing what I like and ignoring the rest. If two sources happen to contradict each other, I take a leaf out of Star Trek's book and consider them alternate timelines/realities. It's hard to keep straight sometimes, but I find it's the best way for a fan to deal with something like this without going mad.

infohippie:I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

And would you know/care if they kept it? Most of the old Marvel comics were contradictory, nonsensical, silly trash but that didn't stop them from salvaging everything they could out of it.

If they can salvage a good story out of it, then no I would not mind at all if they kept it. I am just saying that apart from a small handful of particular books, the rest of the EU was junk, and I could not care less if they completely eviscerated it, taking what they could use and throwing out the rest, so long as the end result was an enjoyable film.

infohippie:I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

Sorry if this comes off as pedantic, but you're a little bit misinformed. There were no jedi in Rogue Squadron (one of the secondary characters becomes a jedi in another series) and the series focused on ship-to-ship combat.

Hang on, I think I am confused by your post here. What I was saying is that I am looking forward to this standalone film, since it sounds to me like it will not prominently feature Jedi and will likely contain lots of space combat. That is what I associate with the name "Rogue Squadron". Or did you accidentally misread my first few words to mean "I am NOT looking forward..."?

Please let this be a Wedge Antilles movie.Please let this be a Wedge Antilles movie.Please let this be a Wedge Antilles movie.Please let this be a Wedge Antilles movie.Please God let this be a Wedge Antilles movie.

Seriously though, a Rogue Squadron movie would be awesome. Even if they don't base it on the established Rogue Squadron stories (and they almost certainly wouldn't, unfortunately), I'd love to see a Star Wars movie with a bit of a different style, more about the pilots and soldiers than the Jedi.

Edit: A Corran Horn movie would be pretty great too actually, either way works.

Edit 2:

Neverhoodian:Always good to run across another "starfighter jockey." I was one of those kids that wanted to be Wedge Antilles instead of Luke Skywalker.

Wow, I'm not the only one! It always baffled my friends that I wanted to play as Wedge in the Rogue Squadron GC game instead of Luke, reactions ranging from "Why would you not want Luke?" to "Who the hell is Wedge Antilles?".

Hang on, I think I am confused by your post here. What I was saying is that I am looking forward to this standalone film, since it sounds to me like it will not prominently feature Jedi and will likely contain lots of space combat. That is what I associate with the name "Rogue Squadron". Or did you accidentally misread my first few words to mean "I am NOT looking forward..."?

Kind of, yeah ':D I misread it and though you were looking forward to the replacement rather than the new story itself. -Thanks for clarifying!

Platypus540:Wow, I'm not the only one! It always baffled my friends that I wanted to play as Wedge in the Rogue Squadron GC game instead of Luke, reactions ranging from "Why would you not want Luke?" to "Who the hell is Wedge Antilles?".

Hang on, I think I am confused by your post here. What I was saying is that I am looking forward to this standalone film, since it sounds to me like it will not prominently feature Jedi and will likely contain lots of space combat. That is what I associate with the name "Rogue Squadron". Or did you accidentally misread my first few words to mean "I am NOT looking forward..."?

Kind of, yeah ':D I misread it and though you were looking forward to the replacement rather than the new story itself. -Thanks for clarifying!

(still butthurt though, those stories were awesome!)

Ah, I see. And though I may pour scorn on most of the EU, I do think the Rogue Squadron books were among the few parts of the EU that were actually good. All the New Jedi Order stuff, and Ssi-Ruuk crap, and the Yuuzhan Vong nonsense... That is all best forgotten as far as I am concerned.

Damn, now I REALLY want a rogue squadron movie starring Wedge "motherfucking badass" Antilles. I don't mind the idea of a mercenary film, it even sounds intriguing, but don't call it rogue one...

Also, these writers and directors are awful. Disney, you have the money, now get the talent. J.J. "Im high on cocaine" Abrams? Chris "I don't know where I am right now" Weitz? The dude from LOOPER?! Get your shit together Disney, this is sad.

I hope to God the rumor is wrong and this movie has nothing to do with some stupid heist by bounty hunters. You want to do that, use a different name, Disney! In Star Wars the Rogue name is and should forever be associated with Rogue Squadron.

infohippie:I am looking forward to this. More Star Wars but without the *yawn* Jedi, and hopefully more ship-to-ship combat, sounds exciting. And I could not care less about the EU, most of it was trash, so I won't be butthurt about any changes.

And would you know/care if they kept it? Most of the old Marvel comics were contradictory, nonsensical, silly trash but that didn't stop them from salvaging everything they could out of it.

If they can salvage a good story out of it, then no I would not mind at all if they kept it. I am just saying that apart from a small handful of particular books, the rest of the EU was junk, and I could not care less if they completely eviscerated it, taking what they could use and throwing out the rest, so long as the end result was an enjoyable film.

That's all I think most of us want, Salvage the EU. A counsel of Trent type sit down where they pick out the good bits and toss the dross. The winnowing might result in only keeping names even but that would be enough for a lot of things. I wouldn't mind loosing the Force Unleashed entirely for example. It's the whole sale destruction just for the sake of being different that we see as the slap in the face.

Does NOBODY remember Ewoks: The Battle for Endor? Or that magical adventure shit that it was the sequel to?

But what do I know? I'm sure the fact that this one actually has "Star Wars" in the title makes all the difference...

I'm guessing the fandom likes to pretend some things related to Star Wars don't exist, like those movies, or the Holiday Special, or the Ewoks television series and probably some more stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to echo some of the sentiments in this thread and say I'd like Rogue One to have less or no Jedi/Sith and more space battles. It's called 'STAR Wars' after all, not 'Glowstick-Twirling Pedestrians Wars'.

Sometimes I imagine I live in a fantasy world where companies don't say shit about their product unless it's six months or less away.

I mean, what the heck Disney? Nearly two years and just over two years away for two movies? Sit on that crap until you're even marginally close to that end. This is the same crappy reason we keep getting delayed releases everywhere else.

Does NOBODY remember Ewoks: The Battle for Endor? Or that magical adventure shit that it was the sequel to?

But what do I know? I'm sure the fact that this one actually has "Star Wars" in the title makes all the difference...

I'm guessing the fandom likes to pretend some things related to Star Wars don't exist, like those movies, or the Holiday Special, or the Ewoks television series and probably some more stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to echo some of the sentiments in this thread and say I'd like Rogue One to have less or no Jedi/Sith and more space battles. It's called 'STAR Wars' after all, not 'Glowstick-Twirling Pedestrians Wars'.

Pretty hard to ignore the Christmas Special - while I've never seen it and I never plan to, it WAS the origin of Bobba Fett. People can moan all they like, but no Christmas Special means no Bobba Fett, and no Fett means no Mandalorians.